The Button Factory, The Mercantile, The Grand Social, Shebeen Chic, Twisted Pepper and The Workman’s Club

Hard Working Class Heroes returns to the streets of Dublin over the weekend of Thursday 6/ Friday 7 / Saturday 8 October for its 9th consecutive year.

Taking place in Dublin City Centre the festival is NOW calling on Ireland’s musicians to apply for a slot to play at the event. Applications will be through FMC’s own Breaking Tunes site (log on to www.hwch.net and click on the “BANDS APPLY HERE” button). Closing date for applications is July 16. The judging panel for applications will be made up of writers, A&R and music industry people from around the globe as well as international festival programmers.

Once again, Ireland’s photographers are being called on to submit their finest music related shots for a chance to feature in a HWCH Photographers Exhibition. Photographers’ applications will also be via www.hwch.net – simply click on the “PHOTOGRAPHERS APPLY HERE” button and follow the instructions.

Speaking of their ongoing relationship with HWCH Belinda Kelly, Trade Marketing Manager at Bulmers said ‘Last year the partnership of HWCH and the Bulmers Berry Undergrowth Movement succeeded in its task to unearth hidden talents. Through HWCH 100 bands, plus the Bulmers Berry wild card ‘Band 101’ got the chance to showcase their music and get a head start in the industry. With the depth of talent that applied & were showcased, we are confident that 2011 will be no different and we can lead the way for more talented musicians and artists to be discovered and get the recognition they deserve. The ultimate goal for us is to continue discover new talent and ultimately see these bands achieve a long fruitful career in the music industry.’

Keeping up its high standard of additional events and activities there will be the HWCH conference, mentor sessions and band-tips section and more, with a host of international delegates on hand to share their wisdom and experience (thanks to the generous support of The Arts Council and Culture Ireland). As always, Hard Working Class Heroes promises a spectacular collection of music and fun for the whole weekend.

‘HWCH And The City’ proved an amazing success the last two years with bands taking over the city centre in coffee shops, book shops and many more places playing free gigs.

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The festival website (www.hwch.net ) will provide constant updates on the festival as it unfolds in the lead up to October 6/7/8.

Keep an eye on hwch.net for news on exciting new ways we will be involving you.www.hwch.net

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Tickets
Early bird tickets will be priced at €35 + booking fees compared with the full weekend festival price of €45. Grab them while you can! Offer lasts until July 16th.

Cork Opera House is inviting submissions from budding electronic artists for the experimental Reich Remix Competition.

If you are a musician, DJ, music producer, remixer or Reich aficionado and want to create your own original Reich Effect, then this is for you. The finalists will be judged and selected by none other than Steve Reich, having been shortlisted by a panel of high profile judges including Jim Carroll, Gavin Friday, Stevie G, Nialler09 and Dónal Dineen.

“In my generation we tore the wall down, if Brian Eno or David Bowie come to me, and if popular musicians remix my music like The Orb or DJ Spooky it is a good thing”.

— Steve Reich

In 1991, The Orb’s “Fluffy Little Clouds” gave a major pop nod to Steve Reich, whose composition “Electric Counterpoint” served as the foundation for the band’s breakthrough hit. Reich’s entire output — from early tape collages and pioneering work to his later, larger and more intricate works, including collaborations with visual artists — has served as both template and inspiration for a growing legion of electronic musicians and DJs. The ideas that Steve Reich has been mining for the past three decades have inspired not only the sensibilities of today’s youth culture, but also the technological developments that have shaped them.

“From the phase-shifting tape loop pieces of the early to mid-60s, to the later, more ‘composed’ works with their gradually developing cellular rhythmic and melodic structures, an approach which reached its apogee in the late 70s, Reich’s music can be heard echoing across the Electronica spectrum, from the most hardcore German Techno to Aphex Twin, D*Note, Alec Empire, Tortoise, Panasonic…”

This Wednesday sees Roesy take to the stage at Cyprus Avenue on the Cork city leg of a tour launching his latest album ‘Fable’, released this week. Joining him on stage on the night will be Albert Niland.

Having received massive success with his last album Colour Me Colourful and a huge amount of airplay with the hit single One of the Same, Roesy soundproofed the basement of his Amsterdam apartment where he was living and got to work writing and recording Fable. He mixed the album in New York, where he had previously been picked up by Wardlaw Banks and Downtown Music, currently promoting him in the USA

Fable is arguably Roesy’s most down to earth album to date, reflecting on the obstacles we face at the dawn of a new decade, moving between faith and frustration and covering themes of love, fear and the journey between the two. It’s the work of a musician who is completely comfortable in his ability and continues to remain true to himself, this shines through from beginning to end.

“Roesy has a relaxed, gentle-voiced singing style that evokes shades of Nick Drake without sacrificing its own originality” (The Evening Herald)

“Tender-hearted Irish singer/songwriters are two a cent but Roesy’s the best of the lot” (The RTE Guide)

“…armed with a crystalline pair of vocal chords…” (The Irish Times)

To be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets for the show on Wednesday night, send an email to competitions@corkgigs.com (subject: Roesy) with your name and the answer to the following question:Where was Fable recorded?

The deadline for entries is midnight on Tuesday April 27th. Winners will be notified by email Wednesday morning.

Christmas FM have announced details of a nationwide competition to discover the next great Irish Christmas song. The charity radio station, which aims to raise â‚¬35,000 for the Simon Communities Dublin and Cork this year, has launched an appeal to Irish bands and songwriters to write a yuletide masterpiece that could appear on the stationâ€™s playlist alongside a host of classic Christmas themed hits.

â€œWe are asking Irelandâ€™s musicians to compete in the ultimate test of pop penmanship â€“ the challenge of crafting a truly great Christmas single. Irish musicians have penned some of the most loved and famous Christmas tunes over the years and we are looking to find the next hit. So grab your guitar, a set of sleigh bells and get into the Christmas spirit early this year by writing a cracker of a song!â€ said Daragh O’Sullivan, Christmas FMâ€™s Joint Program Director.

Artists from around the country are asked to write and record their own Christmas compositions and submit them online through the Christmas FM website at www.christmasfm.ie/songcontest . The closing date for the contest is November 16th 2009.

A panel of leading Irish industry experts will choose a shortlist of the best entries which will be playlisted by the station during its first week of broadcast in December. Christmas FM listeners will then be asked to vote for their favourite song by text.

The overall winner of the contest will be given the opportunity to professionally record the song and be playlisted on Christmas FM alongside their catalogue of classic Christmas hits. The winning entry will also be released online as a charity Christmas single with all proceeds being donated to The Simon Communities, Dublin and Cork.

Christmas FM will return this December in an expanded format, broadcasting throughout both Dublin and Cork. A dedicated charity radio station it aims to raise over â‚¬35,000 for the Simon Communities, Dublin and Cork this year through a combination of corporate sponsorship, texts and online donations. The station will begin broadcasting on Monday 30th November, and will continue on air 24 hours a day until 27th December 2009.